We test ride Cotic’s updated 140mm-travel trail bike
Cotic’s second-generation Jeht gets a range of updates, including a revised front triangle, built from UK steel in Scotland, as well as tweaks to the sizing and suspension.
The Jeht is Cotic’s do-it-all bike, featuring 140mm of travel at the rear, controlled by the brand’s droplink suspension, and 150mm travel at the front. The updated bike rolls on 29in wheels.
The development of the Jeht, Cotic’s biggest-selling full-suspension bike, saw influences from Cotic’s FlareMAX and RocketMAX bikes.
Cotic has built the bike to be highly versatile, with nimble handling to help in tight trails and plenty of suspension and capability via the Longshot geometry to work well uphill, too.
I rode the new Jeht for a day before its launch and you’ll find my initial impressions later in this article.
In essence, this feels like a marginal, but noticeable improvement over the previous-generation Jeht, but I’m looking forward to spending more time on the bike in due course.
Cotic Jeht frame details
Joining Cotic’s other droplink full-suspension bikes, the Jeht is now manufactured in the UK by frame builders Five Land Bikes, with Datatag security fitted from the factory.
The new front triangle, which sees developments in the tube shapes, is constructed from Reynolds 853 steel. This frame material is made in Birmingham, in the UK, from recycled metal. Cotic says this is about as environmentally friendly as frame production can get.
Cotic publishes its sustainability statement, while Reynolds has an impact report on its steel tube manufacturing.
In terms of frame tubes, there’s a redesigned Ovalform HD down tube, built to be stiffer and stronger than the previous Jeht’s, without increasing weight.
There’s also a new brace joining the down tube and seat tube, bolstering front-end stiffness and durability.
The head tube has a standard form, with no cables routed through it. There are large Enduro MAX bearings sitting around 15mm main pivots, two bottle cage mounts, room for 2.5in tyres and a Syntace X-12 axle (non-Universal Derailleur Hanger).
The rear swingarm is shipped in from Asia, and is alloy, as per Cotic’s other full-suspension bikes.
Cotic Jeht suspension details
Cotic uses its droplink suspension system on the Jeht to provide 140mm of travel.
This is a linkage-driven single-pivot design. The large main pivot sits behind the chainring. A rearward pivot on the seatstays and droplink connects the seatstays to the seat tube.
Cotic has increased the progressivity of the suspension on this generation of the Jeht. This, it says, makes the bike more supple in its early stroke, increasing grip and comfort, before ramping up late in the stroke to give greater control on bigger hits.
Progressivity is tuned depending on the bike’s size, with the larger bikes and heavier riders getting more progressive suspension, ranging from 22 per cent to 28 per cent – these are relatively high figures for a trail bike.
Cotic hasn’t changed anti-rise or anti-squat from the previous-generation bike – these figures relate to the impact of pedalling and braking, respectively, on the suspension.
Cotic Jeht geometry details
Cotic’s Longshot geometry takes inspiration from Geometron’s bikes.
The concept is based around a short 35mm stem, with correspondingly longer reaches to give confident handling at speed that’s still quick and nimble when it needs to be.
Compared to the old Medium and Large sizes, the new C2, C3 and C4 bikes that fit within that older range have shorter seat tubes. This should enable riders to run longer-drop dropper posts.
The larger C3, C4 and C5 frames have a steeper seat angle than the C1 and C2, to improve fit for taller riders.
Cotic has lowered the bottom bracket by 6mm compared to the previous-generation bike to improve cornering, increasing the frame’s stack, but has kept the same head angle and rear centre.
| Frame Size | C1 | C2 | C3 | C4 | C5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat tube (mm) | 390 | 417 | 444 | 471 | 496 |
| Top tube (mm) | 597 | 619 | 637 | 658 | 677 |
| Head angle (degrees) | 64.5 | 64.5 | 64.5 | 64.5 | 64.5 |
| Seat angle (degrees) | 75.8 | 75.8 | 76.2 | 76.2 | 76.2 |
| Chainstay length (mm) | 448 | 448 | 448 | 448 | 448 |
| BB drop (mm) | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 |
| Head tube length (mm) | 100 | 110 | 120 | 130 | 130 |
| Reach (mm) | 444 | 462 | 482 | 501 | 520 |
| Stack (mm) | 623 | 632 | 641 | 650 | 650 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 1,228 | 1,245 | 1,268 | 1,292 | 1,311 |
Cotic Jeht build details
Cotic will offer the Jeht in an array of build options, as well as a rolling chassis (which includes suspension and wheels) and as a frame only (including shock). Mullet versions (a 29in wheel at the front, and 650b wheel at the back) are also offered.
Thanks to Cotic’s relatively small size and UK build process, it is able to offer a range of upgrades or alterations to specs when purchasing your bike.
For example, on the Trail/Gold XT Cane Creek Helm – Hope wheel build (£5,575) you might prefer to spend an extra £100 to get a Hope crankset over the standard Shimano XT. You might also see fit to swap the Shimano XT brakes to the cheaper Magura MT5 stoppers, saving you £37.
Most components on each build are changeable, with Cotic offering options from a broad range of brands, including Fox and RockShox, Michelin and WTB, BikeYoke, Hope, Shimano and SRAM.
You can even buy extra frame protection, derailleur hangers, Restrap-x-Cotic frame bags and mudguards.
Furthermore, the basic RockShox Revelation option can be upgraded with a Charger 2.1 damper for £150, effectively making it a 2022 RockShox Pike Ultimate in all but sticker.
Cotic Jeht build prices
The frame-only option comes in at £2,199 with a RockShox Deluxe Select Plus (which you can upgrade with RockShox, Fox and Cane Creek options).
The basic rolling chassis is £2,895, with a RockShox Revelation RC fork, the Deluxe Select Plus shock and Shimano MT620 wheels.
Bronze builds start at £4,225 (or €4,000 / $4,380*), with a Shimano SLX groupset, Shimano M610 wheels and the same suspension as the Rolling Chassis above.
The range-topping Works builds start at £7,999 (€7,599 / $8,187). They come with Hope brakes, Cane Creek titanium cranks, Fox Factory Float X shock and an Ultimate-level Lyrik from RockShox, as well a lightweight Shimano XTR drivetrain with Garbaruk cassette.
C2 and C3 sizes are in stock now, with other sizes arriving soon.
*US and EU prices are dependent on shipping and currency fluctuations, and exclude UK VAT, so are given as a guide.
Cotic Jeht initial ride impressions
The Jeht I rode for one rather damp ride was kitted out with a Shimano XT drivetrain, Hope Tech 4 V4 brakes, Hope’s new Fortus 30 SC wheels and Ultimate-level Lyrik and Super Deluxe from RockShox. It’s priced at £5,996.
As I found when I reviewed the previous-generation Jeht, the climbing capabilities of the bike impressed.
The suspension is stable when pedalling, and so despite having a lockout lever, on my test loop I never found my hand dipping down to the centre of the bike to give it a flick.
Even when stood, the suspension doesn’t get wayward, until you start pedalling in an un-composed manner.
Traction levels seem good, with the rear WTB Trail Boss tyre hooking up well and the suspension taking the sting out of rocky or rooty steps.
The C3 I rode (182cm tall, 31in inseam) gave me a comfortable seated position, with the moderately (but not extremely) steep seat angle and roomy top tube providing plenty of space over the bike.
As I’ve come to expect from Cotic’s bikes, the descending performance is great.
The suspension is smooth in its early stroke, enabling the bike to carry speed over stutter bumps and mid-sized roots. It stiffens a touch when you’re on the brakes, but not so much that the bike becomes too rigid to cope with rough descents.
The Jeht deals well with bigger hits, too, easing into its late stroke when required.
However, I found the bike surprisingly progressive, a combination of the additional progression in the suspension, and the volume spacers in the shock. If I’d had longer with the Jeht I might have removed a volume spacer or two, in order to get full travel on my test loops.
For my taste, the late progression came on with a bit of a thunk. However, the removal of volume spacers should help here.
I like Cotic’s approach to geometry.
The bike is certainly stable and confident when pointed in a straight line. I was happy jumping on it and hitting my top speed pretty much immediately.
At the same time, I found it easy to slither and slide the rear end around when confronted with tight, twisty and steep trails.